Olympia School District holds McKenny Elementary closure hearing; two more hearings this month

The Olympia School District held a public hearing Monday evening, Oct. 12, on the proposed closure of McKenny Elementary. The hearing was scheduled for 6 p.m. in the school's Multi-Purpose Room, 3250 Morse-Merryman Road SE, with options to comment in person or on Zoom.

How it worked. The district set comment limits of three minutes per speaker, dropping to two minutes if more than 50 people signed up. Priority went to current McKenny students, then district students who attended McKenny, McKenny families, McKenny staff, other district students and other community members. The district asked people to speak at only one of the three hearings.

The other hearings. LP Brown Elementary's hearing is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. Madison Elementary's is at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19. Sign-ups for both are open on the district's website.

What's proposed. Superintendent Patrick Murphy has proposed closing Madison, McKenny and LP Brown ahead of the 2027-28 school year. According to The Olympian's earlier reporting, the plan is part of his goal of reaching a 7.14% ending fund balance, about $14.3 million in reserves, by the 2028-29 school year. The school board is scheduled to vote Nov. 12, according to the district.

No state rescue. More than 30 people spoke at the board's Oct. 8 meeting, The Olympian reported. Among them were state Rep. Beth Doglio (D-Olympia) and former Rep. Laurie Dolan, who said the state budget faces more cuts and there is no extra money to keep the consolidation from happening.